Daily life in North Korea

President Trump tweeted Friday that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded” if North Korea acts “unwisely,” escalating an exchange of threats between the nuclear-armed nations.

American and South Korean officials said they would move forward with large-scale military exercises later this month that North Korea calls a rehearsal for war. Pyongyang has laid out plans to strike near the U.S. territory of Guam.

Trump tweeted Friday: “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” His tweet caps off a week of war rhetoric that has alarmed international leaders.

Despite tensions and talk of war, life on the streets of the North Korean capital remains calm. There are no air raid drills or cars in camouflage netting as was the case during previous crises. Schoolchildren carry brooms as they walk to various public spaces to sweep and weed the grass in efforts to keep the city clean.

North Koreans have lived for decades with the state media message that war is imminent, the U.S. is to blame and their country is ready to defend itself. State-run media ensure that the population gets the North Korean side of the story, but don’t convey any sense of international concern about the situation. (AP)

Schoolchildren carry brooms as they walk to various public spaces to sweep and weed the grass in efforts to keep the city clean on July 28, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A factory guide in a traditional Korean dress with the faces of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il pinned above her heart on the left of her dress, speaks to visiting media in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 26, 2017. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

The sky is overcast at the end of a workday on July 17, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea, where the 105-story pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel is seen in this photograph towering over residential apartments. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

Two men are dwarfed by a mountainous backdrop as they sweep rainwater off the Pyongyang-Wonsan highway on July 22, 2017, in North Korea. The Pyongyang-Wonsan highway is 172-kilometer-long or 107 miles long and it connects the North Korean capital to Wonsan, a port city on the Korean Peninsula. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

North Koreans walk cross the Pothong River via a suspended bridge while another man is silhouetted as he plants grass on a sidewalk on June 20, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

Women carry parasols while two men stop to chat as they walk through an underpass in downtown Pyongyang on June 16, 2017, in North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A waitress moves a dining chair at a restaurant terrace that overlooks a residential street at dusk in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2017. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A woman’s face is illuminated by her phone as she reads at the Grand People’s Study House on July 24, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The building is situated on Kim Il Sung Square and serves as the central library where North Koreans also go to for language classes such as English, Chinese German and Japanese. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

Women carry parasols as they walk down the street of downtown Pyongyang on July 26, 2017, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

The headlights of a bus are seen through rain on a car window as it travels along a main intersection on July 22, 2017, in Wonsan, North Korea, where the rainy season usually starts in July. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A North Korean crosses the Pothong River via a suspended bridge at the start of a work day on July 19, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

North Korean women push their cart and bicycles over a bridge on July 21, 2017, in Hamhung, North Korea. Hamhung is the second largest city and the capital of South Hamgyong Province in North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A waitress walks past the decorated interiors of a “soft drink shop” located at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea on June 18, 2017. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A staff member at the Grand People’s Study House looks for a specific publication on July 24, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The building is situated on Kim Il Sung Square and serves as the central library where North Koreans also go to for language classes such as English, Chinese German and Japanese. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

People read at the Grand People’s Study House on July 24, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The building is situated on Kim Il Sung Square and serves as the central library where North Koreans also go to for language classes such as English, Chinese German and Japanese. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A woman carrying a parasol crosses an overpass where a residential building is seen in the background on July 26, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A man talks on his mobile phone as he and other commuters ride in an electric trolley downtown Pyongyang at the end of a workday on July 28, 2017, in North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

The Juche tower and Taedong river are seen on a hazy morning from the Grand People’s Study House,July 24, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A schoolboy walks toward a carpark as a group of women board a bus in front residential buildings, July 25, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A schoolboy walks among soldiers at the end of a workday July 25, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

Seen through a glass window pane, the 105-story pyramid shaped Ryugyong hotel towers over residential buildings at dawn as the sun rises on July 26, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A schoolboy sweeps a sidewalk on July 28, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A woman carries a parasol as she walks toward kiosks that sell flowers, snacks and drinks on July 18, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

North Koreans play shooting games in an arcade at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park, Sept. 3, 2014 in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

North Korean traffic policewomen dolls are seen wrapped in plastic and are usually found on sale at souvenir shops in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 22, 2017. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

North Korean soldiers get off the backs of trucks as they arrive at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 20, 2017. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

Parade participants carry North Korean flags, July 27, 2013 during a mass military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

A North Korean girl watches as fireworks explode, July 27, 2014, in central Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans gathered at Kim Il Sung Square to watch a fireworks display as part of celebrations for the 61st anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

Female North Korean soldiers wave from the back of a truck at oncoming traffic on April 20, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP)

Daily life in North Korea

In this image made from video, pedestrians walk beneath portraits of Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il at Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017. Despite tensions and talk of war, life on the streets of the North Korean capital Pyongyang remained calm. (AP Photo)